The Walter Camp Football Foundation announced today that Clemson running back Travis Etienne, quarterback Trevor Lawrence and defensive end Xavier Thomas have been named to the watch list for the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award. The full watch list and additional information from the Walter Camp Football Foundation are included below.
New Haven, CT – The Walter Camp Football Foundation has announced the names of forty “players to watch” for its 2019 Player of the Year award, the nation’s fourth-oldest individual college football accolade.
Ten players on the 2019 watch list, including the 2018 Player of the Year Tua Tagovailoa (Alabama) have previously earned Walter Camp All-America honors. Tagovailoa was a First Team All-American last season along with his teammate, wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, and Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor.
There are 30 offensive players (16 quarterbacks, seven running backs and seven receivers/tight ends) on the preseason watch list along with 10 from the defensive side of the ball.
In all, 35 schools and 11 conferences (including independents) are represented on the list with Alabama having four players on the list. Defending national champion Clemson has three players on the watch list.
“We are proud to continue the great work of Walter Camp and recognize the best college football players in the nation,” Foundation president Mario Coppola said. “This watch list is a great start to what is shaping up to be another exciting year of college football.”
The watch list will be narrowed to 10 semi-finalists in mid-November. The 2019 Walter Camp Player of the Year recipient, which is voted on by the 130 NCAA Bowl Subdivision head coaches and sports information directors, will be announced live on ESPN on Thursday, December 12. The winner will then receive his trophy at the Foundation’s 53rd annual national awards banquet on January 18, 2020 in New Haven, Conn.
Please note: Appearing on the preseason Watch List is not a requirement for a player to win the Walter Camp award or be named to the All-America team.
2019 Walter Camp Player of Year Preseason Players to WatchEno Benjamin, RB, Junior, Arizona StateIan Book, QB, Senior, Notre DameMatt Bushman, TE, Junior, BYU*Andre Cisco, DB, Sophomore, Syracuse*Grant Delpit, DB, Junior, LSUAJ Dillon, RB, Junior, Boston CollegeSam Ehlinger, QB, Junior, Texas*Travis Etienne, Junior, ClemsonMason Fine, QB, Senior, North TexasPaddy Fisher, LB, Junior, NorthwesternJake Fromm, QB, Junior, GeorgiaJonathan Garvin, DE, Junior, Miami Fla.Richie Grant, S, Junior, UCF*Bryce Hall, DB, Senior, VirginiaNajee Harris, RB, Junior, AlabamaJustin Herbert, QB, Senior, OregonLavert Hill, DB, Senior, MichiganKelvin Hopkins, QB, Senior, ArmyJalen Hurts, QB, Senior, Oklahoma#Jerry Jeudy, WR, Junior, AlabamaD’Eriq King, QB, Senior, HoustonTrevor Lawrence, QB, Sophomore, ClemsonJordan Love, QB, Junior, Utah StateAdrian Martinez, QB, Sophomore, NebraskaKellen Mond, QB, Junior, Texas A&MRondale Moore, WR, Sophomore, Purdue*Dylan Moses, LB, Junior, AlabamaZach Moss, RB, Senior, UtahJared Pinckney, TE, Senior, VanderbiltJalen Reagor, WR, Junior, TCUNathan Rourke, QB, Senior, OhioLaviska Shenault, WR, Junior, ColoradoNate Stanley, QB, Senior, IowaD’Andre Swift, RB, Junior, Georgia#Tua Tagovailoa, QB, Junior, Alabama#Jonathan Taylor, RB, Junior, WisconsinXavier Thomas, DE, Sophomore, ClemsonZac Thomas, QB, Junior, Appalachian State*Tylan Wallace, WR, Junior, Oklahoma State*Kenny Willekes, DL, Senior, Michigan State
#Indicates Walter Camp First-Team All-American*Indicates Walter Camp Second-Team All-American
Walter Camp, “The Father of American football,” first selected an All-America team in 1889.
Camp – a former Yale University athlete and football coach – is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation (www.waltercamp.org; @WalterCampFF) – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team.
